Information processing apparatus and inputting apparatus for sharing image data

ABSTRACT

Methods and apparatus provide for: generating image data for an application to be displayed on an output device; recording the image data generated by the image generating unit; and receiving operation information from an input device, where the recording includes storing the image data for an application for a predetermined period of time up to the point in time at which operation information is received during the receiving operation information from a specific input unit provided in the input device while displaying an application image.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This is a continuation application of U.S. patent application Ser. No.17/315,968, filed May 10, 2021, which is a continuation application ofU.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/682,155, filed Nov. 13, 2019 (nowU.S. Pat. No. 11,033,816), which is a continuation application of U.S.patent application Ser. No. 14/438,398, filed Apr. 24, 2015 (now U.S.Pat. No. 10,516,724), which is a national phase application ofInternational Application No. PCT/JP2013/004372, filed Jul. 17, 2013,which claims priority to Japanese Application No. JP 2012-243801, filedNov. 5, 2012, the entire disclosures of each are hereby incorporated byreference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a technology for sharing image data orinformation relating to image data.

BACKGROUND ART

As a communication tool for many people, various social networkingservices (SNS) are being utilized. Also a service for sharing a movingpicture prepared or captured by a user has become widespread, and a usercan share various pieces of information with different users on anetwork.

SUMMARY Technical Problem

In recent years, environments in which a plurality of users can play agame together through the Internet have been prepared. Such a networkservice of a game as just described already has a role as acommunication tool, and construction of a mechanism by which informationcan be shared efficiently between friends or with strangers is demanded.It is to be noted that it is preferable for information to be sharedefficiently not only in a game but also in a different type of a networkservice in which a plurality of information processing apparatus areconnected to each other.

Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide atechnology for sharing information.

Solution to Problem

In order to solve the problem described above, according to an aspect ofthe present invention, there is provided an information processingapparatus. The information processing apparatus includes an imagegeneration unit configured to generate image data to be displayed on anoutputting apparatus, an acceptance unit configured to accept operationinformation of inputting units provided in an inputting apparatus, and asharing processing unit configured to carry out, when the acceptanceunit accepts operation information of particular one of the inputtingunits provided in the inputting apparatus, a process of sharing theimage data generated by the image generation unit or informationrelating to the image data.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is providedan inputting apparatus configured to transmit operation information of auser to an information processing apparatus. The inputting apparatusincludes a first inputting unit configured to input operationinformation to system software of the information processing apparatus,a second inputting unit configured to input operation information toapplication software of the information processing apparatus, and athird inputting unit configured to input operation information to anyone of the system software and the application software of theinformation processing apparatus.

According to a further aspect of the present invention, there isprovided an inputting apparatus configured to transmit operationinformation of a user to an information processing apparatus. Theinputting apparatus includes an inputting unit configured to inputoperation information for causing the information processing apparatusto carry out a process of sharing a content or information relating tothe content, and a communication module configured to transmit theoperation information to the information processing apparatus.

It is to be noted that also arbitrary combinations of the constituentelements described above and the representations of the presentinvention obtained by conversion thereof between a method, an apparatus,a system, a recording medium, a computer program and so forth areeffective as modes of the present invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagram depicting an information processing system accordingto an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram depicting an appearance configuration of aninputting apparatus.

FIG. 3 is a diagram depicting an appearance configuration of theinputting apparatus on the rear face side.

FIG. 4 is a diagram depicting an internal configuration of the inputtingapparatus.

FIG. 5 is a diagram depicting a functional block diagram of aninformation processing apparatus.

FIG. 6 is a diagram depicting an internal configuration of theinformation processing apparatus.

FIG. 7 is a diagram depicting an example of a menu screen imagedisplayed on an outputting apparatus.

FIG. 8 is a diagram depicting an example of a game screen imagedisplayed on the outputting apparatus.

FIG. 9 is a diagram depicting an example of an inputting screen imagedisplayed in an overlapping relationship on the game screen image.

FIG. 10 is a diagram depicting another example of an inputting screenimage displayed in an overlapping relationship on the game screen image.

FIG. 11 is a diagram depicting an example of an editing screen imagedisplayed in an overlapping relationship on the game screen image.

FIG. 12 is a diagram depicting a further example of an inputting screenimage displayed in an overlapping relationship on the game screen image.

FIG. 13 is a diagram depicting a content list screen image.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENT

FIG. 1 depicts an information processing system 1 according to anembodiment of the present invention. The information processing system 1includes an information processing apparatus 10 which is a userterminal, a network server 5, and sharing servers 9 a and 9 b. Thecomponents of the information processing system 1 are connected to eachother by a network 3 such as the Internet or a LAN (Local Area Network).

An auxiliary storage apparatus 2 is a mass storage device such as an HDD(Hard Disk Drive) or a flash memory and may be an external storageapparatus connected to the information processing apparatus 10 by a USB(Universal Serial Bus) or the like or may be a built-in storageapparatus. An outputting apparatus 4 may be a television set whichincludes a display unit configured to output an image and a speakerconfigured to output sound or may be a computer display unit. Theoutputting apparatus 4 may be connected to the information processingapparatus 10 by a wire cable or may be connected wirelessly. Theinformation processing apparatus 10 connects to an inputting apparatus6, which is operated by a user, by wireless connection, and theinputting apparatus 6 outputs operation information representative of aresult of the operation of the user to the information processingapparatus 10. The information processing apparatus 10 accepts theoperation information from the inputting apparatus 6 and reflects theoperation information on processing of system software or applicationsoftware and then causes a result of the processing to be outputted fromthe outputting apparatus 4.

The inputting apparatus 6 is configured having a plurality of inputtingunits including a plurality of operation buttons of the push type, ananalog stick which can input an analog quantity and turning buttons. Inthe information processing system 1, the information processingapparatus 10 is a game apparatus which executes a game, and theinputting apparatus 6 may be an apparatus which supplies operationinformation of a user to the information processing apparatus 10 such asa game controller. A camera 7 which is an image pickup apparatus isprovided in the proximity of the outputting apparatus 4 and picks up animage of a space around the outputting apparatus 4. While FIG. 1 depictsan example wherein the camera 7 is attached to an upper portion of theoutputting apparatus 4, the camera 7 may otherwise be disposedsidewardly of the outputting apparatus 4. Whatever the case may be, thecamera 7 is disposed at a position at which the camera 7 can pick up animage of a user who plays a game in front of the outputting apparatus 4.The information processing apparatus 10 has a function of authenticatingthe face of the user from a picked up image of the camera 7.

An access point (hereinafter referred to as “AP”) 8 has functions of awireless access point and a router, and the information processingapparatus 10 connects to the AP 8 by wireless or wire connection toestablish connection for communication with the network server 5 and thesharing servers 9 a and 9 b on the network 3.

The network server 5 provides a network service of a game to users ofthe information processing system 1. The network server 5 managesnetwork accounts for identifying the users, and a user would use itsnetwork account to sign in to the network service provided by thenetwork server 5. By signing in to the network service from theinformation processing apparatus 10, the user can register save data ofa game or a virtual award article (trophy) acquired during game playinto the network server 5. Further, in the information processing system1, a plurality of users may participate in an online game usingdifferent information processing apparatuses 10 from each other, and thenetwork server 5 may function as a game server which manages sessions ofa game.

In FIG. 1 , the network server 5 is represented as a server in whichthose functions are consolidated. Accordingly, the network server 5 maybe configured physically from a plurality of servers, each of which maybe maintained and managed by an entity corresponding to a functionallocated thereto.

The sharing servers 9 a and 9 b provide a service for sharing image datauploaded or distributed from the information processing apparatus 10 orinformation relating to such image data. For example, the sharing server9 a may be a server which provides an SNS, and the sharing server 9 bmay be a server which provides an image sharing (distribution) service.In the following description, where the sharing servers 9 a and 9 b arenot distinguished from each other, each of them is referred to simply as“sharing server 9.” In the information processing system 1, the numberof sharing servers 9 is not limited to two as depicted in FIG. 1 but maybe a greater number. In the information sharing service provided by thesharing servers 9, the users of interest may be limited to registeredmembers or may be open to the general. In the present embodiment, “toshare data or information” signifies to establish a state in which auser other than users who upload or distribute data or information tothe sharing server 9 can access (for example, browse) the data orinformation, but does not make a question of whether or not a user whocan access is limited to particular members.

Referring to FIG. 1 , the information processing apparatus 10 executes agame, and the user plays the game operating the inputting apparatus 6.In order to play the game, the user would log in to OS (system software)of the information processing apparatus 10 and sign in to the networkservice provided by the network server 5 in order to store save data ofthe game or a trophy granted as a result of achievement of a mission inthe game. The user logging in to the system software is managed with auser account registered in the information processing apparatus 10.

FIG. 2 depicts an appearance configuration of the inputting apparatus 6.The user would grip a left side grip portion 78 b by the left hand andgrip a right side grip portion 78 a by the right hand to operate theinputting apparatus 6. A direction key 71, analog sticks 77 a and 77 band four kinds of operation buttons 76, which configure an inputtingunit, are provided on a housing upper face 79 of the inputting apparatus6. The four kinds of buttons 72 to 75 have different figures inscribedin different colors thereon in order to distinguish them from eachother. In particular, a red round mark is inscribed on the ◯ button 72;a blue cross mark is inscribed on the

button 73; a violet square mark is inscribed on the □ button 74; and agreen triangle mark is inscribed on the

button 75. On the housing upper face 79, a touch pad may be provided ina flat region between the direction key 71 and the operation buttons 76.

A function button 80 is provided between the two analog sticks 77 a and77 b. The function button 80 is used to turn on the power supply to theinputting apparatus 6 and simultaneously make active a communicationfunction of connecting the inputting apparatus 6 and the informationprocessing apparatus 10 to each other. It is to be noted that, when themain power supply to the information processing apparatus 10 is in anoff state, if the function button 80 is depressed, the informationprocessing apparatus 10 accepts a connection request transmitted fromthe inputting apparatus 6 also as an instruction to turn on the mainpower supply. Consequently, the main power supply to the informationprocessing apparatus 10 is turned on. After the inputting apparatus 6 isconnected to the information processing apparatus 10, the functionbutton 80 is used also to cause the information processing apparatus 10to display a menu screen image.

A SHARE button 81 is provided on the left side of the left side analogstick 77 b. The SHARE button 81 is utilized to input an instruction fromthe user to the system software in the information processing apparatus10. An OPTION button 82 is provided on the right side of the right sideanalog stick 77 a. The OPTION button 82 is utilized to input aninstruction from the user to application (game) software executed by theinformation processing apparatus 10. The SHARE button 81 and the OPTIONbutton 82 may each be formed as a push-type button.

FIG. 3 depicts an appearance configuration of the inputting apparatus 6on the rear face side. A light emitting region 85 of a horizontallyelongated substantially rectangular shape is provided on a housing rearface 86 of the inputting apparatus 6. The light emitting region 85 hasLEDs of red (R), green (G) and blue (B), which are turned on inaccordance with emission light color information transmitted from theinformation processing apparatus 10. On the housing rear face 86, anupper side button 83 a, a lower side button 84 a and another upper sidebutton 83 b, another lower side button 84 b are provided at left-rightsymmetrical positions in a longitudinal direction. The upper side button83 a and the lower side button 84 a are operated by the forefinger andthe middle finger of the right hand of the user, respectively, and theupper side button 83 b and the lower side button 84 b are operated bythe forefinger and the middle finger of the left hand of the user,respectively. Since the light emitting region 85 is provided between therow of the upper side button 83 a and the lower side button 84 a on theright side and the row of the upper side button 83 b and the lower sidebutton 84 b on the left side as depicted in FIG. 3 , the camera 7 cansuitably pick up an image of the light emitting region 85 that has beenturned on while the light emitting region 85 is not hidden by theforefinger or the middle finger by which a button is operated. The upperside buttons 83 may be configured as the push type buttons, and thelower side buttons 84 may be configured as the trigger type buttonswhich are rotatably supported.

FIG. 4 depicts an internal configuration of the inputting apparatus 6.The inputting apparatus 6 includes a wireless communication module 90, aprocessing part 91, the light emitting region 85 and an oscillator 98.The wireless communication module 90 has a function of transferring datato and from a wireless communication module of the informationprocessing apparatus 10. The processing part 91 executes expectedprocessing of the inputting apparatus 6.

The processing part 91 has a main controlling unit 92, an inputacceptance unit 93, a light emission controlling unit 94, a three-axisacceleration sensor 95, a three-axis gyro sensor 96 and a drivingcontrolling unit 97. The main controlling unit 92 carries out transferof necessary data to and from the wireless communication module 90.

The input acceptance unit 93 accepts operation information of aninputting unit such as the direction key 71, operation buttons 76,analog sticks 77, function button 80, SHARE button 81, OPTION button 82,upper side buttons 83 and lower side buttons 84 and transmits theoperation information to the main controlling unit 92. The maincontrolling unit 92 supplies the received operation information to thewireless communication module 90, and the wireless communication module90 transmits the operation information at a predetermined timing to theinformation processing apparatus 10. It is to be noted that the maincontrolling unit 92 may convert the received operation information intopredetermined control information as occasion demands.

The light emission controlling unit 94 controls emission of light of ared LED 87, a green LED 88 and a blue LED 89 which configure the lightemitting region 85. If the information processing apparatus 10 transmitsemission light color information for designating an emission light colorof the light emitting region 85, then the emission light colorinformation from the information processing apparatus 10 is received bythe wireless communication module 90 and is passed to the maincontrolling unit 92. The main controlling unit 92 notifies the lightemission controlling unit 94 of the emission light color information.Consequently, the light emission controlling unit 94 can control thelight emitting region 85 to emit light of the designated emission lightcolor.

The oscillator 98 is configured including an eccentric motor and isprovided in order to oscillate the entire inputting apparatus 6. Whenthe wireless communication module 90 receives an oscillation controllingsignal from the information processing apparatus 10, it supplies theoscillation controlling signal to the main controlling unit 92, and themain controlling unit 92 controls the driving controlling unit 97 tocause the oscillator 98 to oscillate in accordance with the oscillationcontrolling signal. The driving controlling unit 97 may be configured asa switch for driving the oscillator 98 or may be configured as a PWMcontrolling unit which varies the duty ratio of a supply voltage.

The three-axis acceleration sensor 95 detects acceleration components inthree-axis directions of XYZ of the inputting apparatus 6. Thethree-axis gyro sensor 96 detects angular velocities on an XZ plane, aZY plane and a YX plane. The main controlling unit 92 accepts detectionvalue information from the three-axis acceleration sensor 95 and thethree-axis gyro sensor 96, and the wireless communication module 90transmits the detection value information to the information processingapparatus 10 in a predetermined cycle together with operationinformation of a button input or the like.

FIG. 5 depicts a functional block diagram of the information processingapparatus 10. The information processing apparatus 10 is configuredincluding a main power supply button 20, a power ON LED 21, a standbyLED 22, a system controller 24, a clock 26, a device controller 30, amedia drive 32, a USB module 34, a flash memory 36, a wirelesscommunication module 38, a wire communication module 40, a sub system 50and a main system 60.

The main system 60 is configured having a main CPU (Central ProcessingUnit), and the sub system 50 is configured having a sub CPU. The mainCPU and the sub CPU operate exclusively. While the main CPU is startedand is in an active state, the sub CPU is in a standby state, but whilethe sub CPU is started and is in an active state, the main CPU is in astandby state. While the main power supply to the information processingapparatus 10 remains on, the main CPU executes various processes of anapplication or the like under an environment generated by systemsoftware while the sub CPU is asleep. On the other hand, if the mainpower supply to the information processing apparatus is turned off, thenthe main CPU starts up the sub CPU and enters an asleep state. In thismanner, the main CPU and the sub CPU operate exclusively.

The main power supply button 20 is an inputting unit to which anoperation input from the user is carried out and is provided on a frontface of a housing of the information processing apparatus 10 such thatit is operated in order to turn on or off the power supply to the mainsystem 60 of the information processing apparatus 10. In the followingdescription, that the main power supply is in an on state signifies thatthe main system 60 is in an active state, and that the main power supplyis in an off state signifies that the main system 60 is in a standbystate. The power ON LED 21 is turned on when the main power supplybutton 20 is turned on, and the standby LED 22 is turned on when themain power supply button 20 is turned off. It is to be noted that such aconfiguration that turning on/off of the main power supply is carriedout by a short press operation of the main power supply button 20 but,if the main power supply button 20 is long-pressed, then the systempower supply to the information processing apparatus 10 is turned off tostop the power supply to the information processing apparatus 10 may beadopted.

The system controller 24 detects depression of the main power supplybutton 20 by the user. If the main power supply button 20 is depressedwhile the main power supply is in an off state, then the systemcontroller 24 acquires the depression operation as an “on instruction,”but if the main power supply button 20 is depressed while the main powersupply is in an on state, then the system controller 24 acquires thedepression operation as an “off instruction.” It is to be noted thatturning on/off of the main power supply can be controlled from theinputting apparatus 6 as described hereinabove, and if the functionbutton 80 of the inputting apparatus 6 is depressed when the main powersupply is in an off state, then the system controller 24 acquires thebutton operation as an “on instruction.”

If the system controller 24 acquires an on instruction, then it notifiesthe sub system 50, which is in an active state, of a result of thedetection and turns off the standby LED 22 while it turns on the powerON LED 21. At this time, the sub system 50 starts up the main system 60and itself enters a standby mode. On the other hand, if the systemcontroller 24 acquires an off instruction, then it notifies the mainsystem 60, which is in an active state, of a result of the detection andturns off the power ON LED 21 while it turns on the standby LED 22. Atthis time, the main system 60 starts up the sub system 50 and itselfenters a standby mode.

While the main CPU has a function of executing a game program installedin the auxiliary storage apparatus 2, the sub CPU does not have thefunction. However, the sub CPU has a function of accessing the auxiliarystorage apparatus 2 and another function of transferring information toand from the network server 5. The sub CPU is configured having onlysuch limited processing functions and accordingly can operate with lowerpower consumption than the main CPU.

The clock 26 is a real time clock, and generates date and timeinformation at present and supplies the generated information to thesystem controller 24, sub system 50 and main system 60.

The device controller 30 is configured as an LSI (Large-Scale IntegratedCircuit) which executes delivery of information between devices like asouth bridge. As depicted in FIG. 5 , such devices as the systemcontroller 24, media drive 32, USB module 34, flash memory 36, wirelesscommunication module 38, wire communication module 40, sub system 50 andmain system 60 are connected to the device controller 30. The devicecontroller 30 absorbs a difference in electric characteristic, adifference in data transfer rate between the devices and controls thetiming of data transfer.

The media drive 32 is a drive apparatus which operates a ROM medium 44,on which application software of a game or the like is recorded, loadedthereon to read out a program, data and so forth from the ROM medium 44.The ROM medium 44 is a read-only recording medium such as an opticaldisk, a magneto-optical disk or a Blu-ray disk.

The USB module 34 is a module to be connected to an external apparatusby a USB cable. The USB module 34 may be connected to the auxiliarystorage apparatus 2 and the camera 7 by a USB cable. The flash memory 36is an auxiliary storage apparatus which configures an internal storage.The wireless communication module 38 wirelessly communicates, forexample, with the inputting apparatus 6 using a communication protocolsuch as a Bluetooth (registered trademark) protocol or an IEEE 802.11protocol. It is to be noted that the wireless communication module 38may be compatible with a third generation (3rd Generation) digitalportable telephone system compliant with the IMT-2000 (InternationalMobile Telecommunication 2000) standard prescribed by the ITU(International Telecommunication Union). The wire communication module40 wire-communicates with an external apparatus and is connected to thenetwork 3, for example, through the AP 8.

The main system 60 includes a main CPU, a memory which is a main storageapparatus and a memory controller, a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) andso forth. The GPU is utilized principally for arithmetic processing of agame program. Those functions may be configured as a system-on-chip andformed on one chip. The main CPU has a function of starting up systemsoftware and executing an application installed in the auxiliary storageapparatus 2 under an environment provided by the system software.

The sub system 50 includes a sub CPU, a memory which is a main storageapparatus, a memory controller and so forth but does not include a GPU.The number of circuit gates of the sub CPU is smaller than the number ofcircuit gates of the main CPU, and the operation power consumption ofthe sub CPU is lower than that of the main CPU. As describedhereinabove, the sub CPU operates while the main CPU is in a standbystate, and the processing functions of the sub CPU are limited in orderto suppress the power consumption of the sub CPU low. It is to be notedthat the sub CPU and the memory may be formed on chips separate fromeach other.

FIG. 6 depicts an internal configuration of the information processingapparatus 10. The information processing apparatus 10 includes aprocessing part 100, a communication unit 102 and an acceptance unit104. The processing part 100 includes an application execution unit 106,an image generation unit 110, a recording unit 130, a sharing processingunit 150 and a user management unit 170. The image generation unit 110generates image data to be displayed on the outputting apparatus 4 andhas a game image generation section 112, a menu image generation section114, a recorded content image generation section 116 and a screenshotgeneration section 118. The recording unit 130 records image datagenerated by the image generation unit 110 and/or information relatingto the image data, and includes a recording controlling section 132, awriting/reading out section 134, a ring buffer 136 and a contentrecording section 138. The sharing processing unit 150 carries outprocessing for sharing image data generated by the image generation unit110 and/or information relating to the image data with a different user.The sharing processing unit 150 includes an input image generationsection 152, an editing image generation section 154, a settingretaining section 156, an upload processing section 158, a distributionprocessing section 160, a recording instruction section 162 and acontent acquisition section 164. The user management unit 170 retains auser account of a log-in user and a device ID of the inputting apparatus6 in an associated relationship with each other. While the user isplaying a game, the user management unit 170 specifies and stores theuser who is playing the game.

The components represented as functional blocks which carry out variousprocesses in FIG. 6 can be configured, in hardware, from a circuitblock, a memory and other LSIs, and is implemented, in software, by aprogram and so forth loaded in the memory. Accordingly, it can berecognized by those skilled in the art that the functional blocks can beimplemented in various forms only from hardware, only from software orfrom a combination of hardware and software and are not limited to anyof them.

In the information processing system 1 of the present embodiment, thecommunication unit 102 receives information of an operation made to aninputting unit of the inputting apparatus 6 by the user (suchinformation is hereinafter referred to as “operation information”) andtransmits a content generated or acquired by the processing part 100 tothe sharing server 9. Here, the content includes at least image datagenerated by the image generation unit 110 and/or information relatingto the image data. The communication unit 102 is configured such that ithas both of functions of the wireless communication module 38 and thewire communication module 40 depicted in FIG. 5 . The wirelesscommunication module 38 takes charge of communication with the inputtingapparatus 6 and the wire communication module 40 takes charge ofcommunication with the network server 5 and the sharing server 9.

The acceptance unit 104 is provided between the communication unit 102and the processing part 100 and transmits data or information to andfrom the communication unit 102 and the processing part 100. If theacceptance unit 104 accepts operation information of an inputting unitprovided in the inputting apparatus 6 through the communication unit102, then it supplies the operation information to one, two or more ofthe application execution unit 106, image generation unit 110, sharingprocessing unit 150 and user management unit 170 of the processing part100.

If the main power supply button 20 is depressed by the user in a statein which the main power supply to the information processing apparatus10 is off, then the main system 60 is started up. The main system 60supplies a generation instruction of a menu image to the menu imagegeneration section 114, and the menu image generation section 114generates a menu image in which icon images of games and so forth arearrayed. It is to be noted that the menu image generation section 114may generate a menu image when the user depresses the function button 80of the inputting apparatus 6 in a state in which the main power supplyto the information processing apparatus 10 is on. The function of themenu image generation section 114 is implemented by system software.

FIG. 7 depicts an example of a menu screen image displayed on theoutputting apparatus 4. The menu screen image is displayed when the useris to select a game to be played or when the user browses activities ofother users. In a category selection region 204, categories of menusprepared in the information processing apparatus 10 are displayed. In agame icon display region 200, icons of games which can be played by alog-in user are displayed in a list in a horizontal direction of thescreen. The user can operate the inputting apparatus 6 to scroll thelist rightwardly or leftwardly. In the game icon display region 200, afocus region 210 is set at a predetermined position, and if a game iconin which the user is interested is placed into the focus region 210,then icons relating to the game are displayed in a relating icon displayregion 202 and relating information is displayed in relating informationdisplay regions 206 and 208. If the user operates an inputting unit ofthe inputting apparatus 6 to place the icon of a game to be played intothe focus region 210 and then depresses a predetermined determinationkey, then the acceptance unit 104 depicted in FIG. 6 accepts theoperation information as a game execution command. Thus, the applicationexecution unit 106 executes the game.

In the relating information display region 206, relating information tothe game placed in the focus region 210 is displayed, and, for example,a moving picture relating to the game is displayed. The moving picturedisplayed may be a play moving picture of the game accumulated in thesharing server 9 or a live moving picture distributed from the sharingserver 9. In the relating information display region 208, relatinginformation to the game placed in the focus region 210 is displayed,and, for example, a list of friends who are playing the game may bedisplayed. The menu image generation section 114 generates such a menuimage and displays the menu image from the outputting apparatus 4.

If an execution command of a game is inputted by the user, then theapplication execution unit 106 executes a program of the game placed inthe focus region 210. In the present example, a game of the title“SAMURAI” is started. The user management unit 170 specifies which useror users are playing the game from among users who have logged in to theinformation processing apparatus 10. For example, if a user A starts thegame and log-in users B and C participate in the game, then it is storedthat the users A, B and C are playing the game.

While the application execution unit 106 in the present embodimentexecutes a game program, it may otherwise execute a different kind of anapplication program. The application execution unit 106 carries outarithmetic operation processing for moving a game character in a virtualspace based on operation information inputted to the inputting apparatus6 from the user. Here, the application execution unit 106 may be anapplication (game program) itself. The game image generation section 112may be a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) which executes a renderingprocess or the like, and receives a result of processing by theapplication execution unit 106 and generates image data of theapplication (game) to be displayed on the outputting apparatus 4. FIG. 8depicts an example of a game screen image displayed on the outputtingapparatus 4.

In the information processing apparatus 10, the recording unit 130 has afunction of recording an image displayed on the outputting apparatus 4on the background. While the image generation unit 110 has a function ofgenerating at least menu image data and game image data and displayingthe generated data on the outputting apparatus 4 as depicted in FIGS. 7and 8 , the recording unit 130 records the image data on the background.

The recording controlling section 132 controls writing and reading outprocesses of data by the writing/reading out section 134. Thewriting/reading out section 134 writes or read out data into or from thering buffer 136 and the content recording section 138. The backgroundrecording in the recording unit 130 is carried out by the ring buffer136. The recording controlling section 132 sets a start address and anend address of a storage region of the auxiliary storage apparatus 2 togenerate the ring buffer 136. This ring buffer region may be set inadvance upon shipment of the information processing apparatus 10. Therecording controlling section 132 records image data generated by theimage generation unit 110 into the ring buffer 136. The recordingcontrolling section 132 records image data in the order of addressesdetermined in advance from the start address into the ring buffer 136.When the recording up to the end address comes to an end, the recordingcontrolling section 132 returns to the start address and carries outoverwrite recording. The recording controlling section 132 then repeatsthe sequence of processes. By recording display image data on thebackground, for example, when the user performed a good play in a game,the user can record the game video and upload the game video to thesharing server 9. Further, by carrying out recording of the ring buffertype, the capacity of the auxiliary storage apparatus 2 can be preventedfrom being used limitlessly. For example, the recording capacity of thering buffer 136 is set so as to allow recording of a moving picture forapproximately 15 minutes.

The sharing processing unit 150 in the present embodiment provides amechanism for sharing image data generated by the image generation unit110 and/or information relating to the image data with other users. Thissharing process is executed taking it as a trigger that a particularinputting unit provided on the inputting apparatus 6 is operated by theuser.

Referring back to FIGS. 2 and 3 , a plurality of inputting unitsprovided on the inputting apparatus 6 can be classified into three typesfrom a point of view of inputting of operation information to theinformation processing apparatus 10.

(First Type)

An inputting unit of the first type is configured to input operationinformation to the system software of the information processingapparatus 10, and particularly, the function button 80 and the SHAREbutton 81 belong to the first type. Operation information of thefunction button 80 and the SHARE button 81 is provided only to thesystem software but is not provided to the application software. Here,the system software signifies software for managing/controlling thehardware of the computer of the information processing apparatus 10 tosupport work or use of the information processing apparatus 10.Meanwhile, the application software signifies software which directlyhas a function of carrying out a work to be executed by the user in anenvironment constructed by the system software. Representatively, thesystem software includes the OS, and the application software includesgame software.

(Second Type)

An inputting unit of the second type is configured to input operationinformation to the application software of the information processingapparatus 10, and particularly, the OPTION button 82 belongs to thesecond type. Operation information of the OPTION button 82 is providedonly to the application software but is not provided to the systemsoftware.

(Third Type)

An inputting unit of the third type is configured to input operationinformation to any of the system software and the application softwareof the information processing apparatus 10, and particularly, thedirection key 71, operation buttons 76, analog sticks 77, upper sidebuttons 83 and lower side buttons 84 belong to the third type. Duringdisplay of a menu screen image (refer to FIG. 7 ) generated by thesystem software, operation information of an inputting unit of the thirdtype is provided to the system software. However, during display of agame screen image (refer to FIG. 8 ) generated by the applicationsoftware, operation information of an inputting unit of the third typeis provided to the application software. In this manner, operationinformation of an inputting unit of the third type is provided to ageneration entity of a screen image displayed on the outputtingapparatus 4.

If the acceptance unit 104 accepts operation information of an inputtingunit of the first type, particularly, of the SHARE button 81, from amongthe inputting units of the three types, then the sharing processing unit150 carries out a process of sharing image data generated by the imagegeneration unit 110 or information relating to the image data with adifferent user. This sharing process is not carried out when theacceptance unit 104 accepts operation information of an inputting unitof the second type or the third type, but is carried out absolutely onlywhen operation information of an inputting unit of the first type isaccepted.

In the following, a sharing process when the user operates the SHAREbutton 81 during display of a game screen image depicted in FIG. 8 isdescribed.

As described hereinabove, during display of a game screen image, thering buffer 136 of the recording unit 130 has recorded therein gameimage data generated by the game image generation section 112. When theacceptance unit 104 accepts operation information of the SHARE button81, the recording instruction section 162 supplies a capturinginstruction of a screenshot to the screenshot generation section 118 andsupplies an instruction to stop background recording to the recordingcontrolling section 132. Consequently, the screenshot generation section118 captures a screenshot of a game image at a point of time at whichthe capturing instruction is accepted. Further, the recordingcontrolling section 132 stops recording of image data into the ringbuffer 136 at a point of time at which it receives a recording stoppinginstruction.

When the screenshot generation section 118 generates image data of ascreenshot, it receives information relating to the screenshot providedthereto from the game and associates the relating information with theimage data. Here, the relating information is attribute information(meta information) of the game such as, for example, a title ID, a titlename and a stage name of the game being played and character namesincluded in the screenshot and may further include information of theuser who is playing the game. It is to be noted that also the recordingcontrolling section 132 receives information relating to image datarecorded in the ring buffer 136 supplied thereto from the game andassociates the relating information with the image data. Here, therelating information is attribute information such as a title ID, atitle name and a stage name of the game and character names included inthe image data, and may include information of the user who is playingthe game. It is to be noted that, since image data for 15 minutes at thelongest is recorded in the ring buffer 136, the stage of the game may bechanged or a character appearing in the game may change within a periodof 15 minutes. Therefore, if the attribute information of the gamechanges, then the game notifies the recording controlling section 132 ofthe attribute information after the change every time. Then, at thepoint of time at which the notification is received, the recordingcontrolling section 132 may associate the attribute information of thenotification with image data to be recorded into the ring buffer 136.

At this time, the input image generation section 152 generates an inputimage indicative of choices relating to sharing of the game image dataor information relating to the game image data. On the input screenimage displayed on the outputting apparatus 4, a GUI (Graphical UserInterface) or a text field for inputting predetermined informationthrough an operation of the inputting apparatus 6 by the user is placed.In the following description, “game image data or information relatingto the game image data” is sometimes referred to collectively as“content” for the convenience of description. On the inputting image, aGUI for selecting a content to be made an object of a sharing process isdisplayed.

FIG. 9 depicts an example of an input screen image displayed in anoverlapping relationship on a game screen image. On the input screenimage 220, three choices relating to content sharing are presented.“Upload Screenshot” is a GUI which designates uploading of image data ofa screenshot; “Upload Video” is a GUI which designates uploading ofimage data recorded in the ring buffer 136; and “Video Streaming” is aGUI which designates live relaying of a play video of the game. The userwould operate the inputting apparatus 6 to select one of the GUIs anddepress the Enter key to execute the selected sharing process.

FIG. 10 depicts an example of an input screen image displayed in anoverlapping relationship on a game screen image when the “Upload Video”is selected. On the input screen image 222, choices relating to sharingof a content are indicated, and here, a service selection field 230 forinputting information regarding which one of content sharing servicesprovided by a plurality of sharing servers 9 is to be selected isindicated. In this example, three choices of a sharing service A,another sharing service B and a further sharing service C are presented.Although the sharing services may be operated by different businessentities, they may otherwise be operated by a single business entity, bywhich different kinds of services may be provided.

To a title inputting field 226, the user would input a game title. It isto be noted that image data is associated with a game title name asdescribed hereinabove, and the input image generation section 152 mayinput the game title name associated with the image data to the titleinputting field 226 in advance. The user can input a comment relating toa play moving picture by text into a comment inputting field 228. Sinceit is expected that, when a content is uploaded into a sharing service,an effect that the interest of a different user in the content is raisedby browsing a comment displayed on a sharing site is exhibited,inputting of a comment has important implications in the sharingservice.

An editing button 224 is utilized when image data recorded in the ringbuffer 136 for 15 minutes at the longest is to be edited. If the editingbutton 224 is selected, then an editing screen image for editing imagedata is displayed on the outputting apparatus 4.

FIG. 11 depicts an example of an editing screen image displayed in anoverlapping relationship on a game screen image. On the editing screenimage 240, the user can determine a length of moving picture data to beuploaded. In particular, the user would determine a start point 244 andan end point 246 of moving picture data for 15 minutes at the longest todetermine the moving picture data between the start point 244 and theend point 246 as an upload object. The user can freely move the startpoint 244 and the end point 246 by operating the inputting apparatus 6.In an image display region 248, moving picture data is reproduced, andthe user would operate an indicator 250 such as a reproduction button, afast feed button or a fast reverse button to determine a start point 244and an end point 246 of moving picture data to be uploaded. The left endof the image display region 248 indicates the first of the movingpicture data while the right end of the image display region 248indicates the last of the moving picture data, and if the user places acursor at an arbitrary position in the image display region 248, then animage existing at a corresponding position on a time axis may bedisplayed. Time information 242 represents time information of an imagereproduced in the image display region 248. The user would set a startpoint 244 and an end point 246 and depress the Enter key to end imageediting, whereupon the input screen image 222 depicted in FIG. 10 isrestored. The recording controlling section 132 stores addresses of thestart point 244 and the end point 246 set for the image data recorded inthe ring buffer 136.

It is to be noted that, where recorded data for 15 minutes at thelongest includes play images at a plurality of stages during a game,some mark may be set at a break of each stage and displayed on theediting screen image 240. By the display, the user can find out a breakof a stage without reproducing the recorded play moving picture, and thesetting process of the start point 244 and the end point 246 isfacilitated. Further, at this time, an image at the break of the stagemay be displayed in association with the mark in the image displayregion 248.

It is to be noted that, in a game, information for inhibiting recordingis sometimes embedded in order to prevent revelation of the contents ofthe game. For example, at a high point of a game such as a special stageor a fight scene against a boss character, information for inhibition ofrecording is set. In the following description, a scene or a stage atwhich recording is inhibited is referred to as “inhibition interval.”Thus, if the recording controlling section 132 receives recordinginhibition information from a game, then it does not record game imagedata in the inhibition interval into the ring buffer 136. Accordingly,when the user depresses the SHARE button 81 intending to upload themoving picture data, such a situation that the moving picture data hasnot been recorded because the moving picture data then is actually in aninhibition interval possibly occurs. Therefore, if a capture interval ofimage data recorded in the ring buffer 136 includes a recordinginhibition interval, it is preferable that a message indicating thatsome scene is not recorded is displayed on the editing screen image 240.It is to be noted that, in an inhibition interval, a mark indicative ofthe inhibition interval may be displayed also on a game screen imagedisplayed on the outputting apparatus 4.

If the editing comes to an end and the input screen image 222 depictedin FIG. 10 is restored, then the user would select an upload button 232an upload button 232. Consequently, the content acquisition section 164generates an acquisition request for image data to the recording unit130, and the recording controlling section 132 uses the addresses of theset start point 244 and end point 246 to read out edited image datarecorded in the ring buffer 136 from the writing/reading out section 134to the content acquisition section 164. Consequently, the contentacquisition section 164 acquires the edited image data.

If the content acquisition section 164 acquires image data (content),then the upload processing section 158 uploads the content to thesharing server 9 which provides the sharing service selected in theservice selection field 230 of the inputting screen image depicted inFIG. 10 . Consequently, the moving picture played by the user is shared,and since the moving picture is exposed to the eyes of many people,increase of the popularity of the game is expected.

FIGS. 10 and 11 depict screen images displayed when the “Upload Video”is selected on the input screen image 220 depicted in FIG. 9 . Also whenthe “Upload Screenshot” or the “Video Streaming” is selected on theinput screen image 220, the input image generation section 152 similarlygenerates an inputting image indicative of choices relating to sharingof a content. It is to be noted that, when the “Upload Screenshot” isselected, the upload processing section 158 uploads image data of ascreenshot to the sharing server 9, but when the “Video Streaming” isselected, the distribution processing section 160 encodes a game imagegenerated by the game image generation section 112 and streamdistributes the encoded game image to the sharing server 9. Thereupon,since a comment inputted from the user or attribute information of thegame is displayed on the sharing site, a different user can rapidly findout the image in which the different user is interested.

If the acceptance unit 104 accepts operation information of the SHAREbutton 81, then the input image generation section 152 controls theoutputting apparatus 4 to display the input screen image 220 forselecting a content to be shared as depicted in FIG. 9 . However, theinput image generation section 152 may cause a different inputtingscreen image to be displayed.

FIG. 12 depicts an example of an inputting screen image to be displayedin an overlapping relationship on a game screen image. On the inputscreen image 260, choices regarding whether a sharing process of imagedata is to be carried out or a saving process of image data is to becarried out are presented. If the sharing processing unit 150 acceptsoperation information of the SHARE button 81, then a sharing process isexecuted. On the other hand, however, since operation information of theSHARE button 81 is not provided to the game, the progress of the gamedoes not stop. Since, in the sharing process, an inputting screen imageor an editing screen image is displayed in an overlapping relationshipon a game screen image as described hereinabove, a situation in whichthe user cannot substantially carry out a game operation occurs.Therefore, the user can continue the game by selecting a saving processof image data on the input screen image 260 to capture moving picturedata tentatively. An editing process or an uploading process of themoving picture data may be carried out, for example, after the userpauses (stops once) the game progress or after the game ends.

It is to be noted that, since the progress of the game does not stoponce in response to operation information of the SHARE button 81, theuser may set the substance of the sharing process for operationinformation of the SHARE button 81 in advance to implement a rapidsharing process. The setting retaining section 156 retains information,for example, of the sharing service selected in the service selectionfield 230 depicted in FIG. 10 . The selection of the sharing service iscarried out by the user in advance, and the setting retaining section156 retains information which specifies the sharing service selected bythe user. While the service selection field 230 depicted in FIG. 10presents choices when moving picture data is to be uploaded, forexample, it is preferable for the user to select in advance a sharingservice to be used when a screenshot is to be uploaded or a sharingservice to be used when streaming distribution is to be carried out suchthat information for specifying the selected sharing service is retainedas setting information in the setting retaining section 156.

In this case, when the acceptance unit 104 accepts operation informationof the SHARE button 81, the sharing processing unit 150 determines, inresponse to an operation situation of the SHARE button 81, of which oneof the sharing processes the setting information is to be adopted fromwithin the setting information retained in the setting retaining section156. Although the operation situation of the SHARE button 81 istypically identified between short press and long press, where threesharing processes including an uploading process of a screenshot, anuploading process of a capture moving picture and a streamingdistribution process of a play video are prepared as in the presentembodiment, operation situations such as short press, long press andpress twice are associated with the sharing processes. For example, ifthe SHARE button 81 is pressed short, then the upload processing section158 carries out an uploading process of a screenshot image in accordancewith the setting information. If the SHARE button 81 is pressed long,then the upload processing section 158 carries out an uploading processof a capture moving picture in accordance with the setting information.If the SHARE button 81 is pressed twice, then the distributionprocessing section 160 carries out a streaming distribution process of agame image. Consequently, if the user merely operates the SHARE button81, then a content can be uploaded or distributed without interruptionof the game progress, and a sharing process of the content can beimplemented more simply.

It is to be noted that the setting retaining section 156 may associate apredetermined sharing process and a process of indicating choicesrelating to sharing with operation situations of the SHARE button 81.For example, where the operation situation of the SHARE button 81 isdistinguished between short press and long press, an uploading processof a screenshot image is associated with the short press operation, anda generation process for an inputting image for selecting one of anuploading process of a capture moving picture and streaming distributionof a game image is associated with the long press operation. At thistime, if the SHARE button 81 is pressed short, then the uploadprocessing section 158 carries out an uploading process of a screenshotimage in accordance with the setting information. However, if the SHAREbutton 81 is pressed long, then the input image generation section 152generates the GUI for the selection between “Upload Video” and “VideoStreaming” depicted in FIG. 9 and displays the GUI on the outputtingapparatus 4. Also in this case, if the setting retaining section 156retains the short press operation of the SHARE button 81 and theuploading process of a screenshot image in an associated relationshipwith each other, then when the upload processing section 158 receives ashort press operation, it can upload a screenshot image to the sharingserver 9 without the necessity for any other input from the user.

It is to be noted that, while a case in which a sharing process of gameimage data is carried out in the information processing apparatus 10 isdescribed, also the menu image data depicted in FIG. 7 may be processedfor sharing and uploaded or distributed to the sharing server 9. If theuser depresses the SHARE button 81 when a game icon of the title“SAMURAI” is displayed in the focus region 210 on the menu screen image,then icon image data of the title “SAMURAI” and/or information relatingto the icon image data are posted to a sharing site so that they may beshared among a plurality of users. The information relating to game iconimage data includes attribute information of the game and furtherincludes related information of a sale site of the game, a play resultof the user A and so forth. Since such information is placed into abrowseable state in the sharing site, for example, a friend of the userA can know that the user A is interested in the “SAMURAI” game, andconsequently, a motivation to play the game together with the user A canbe provided to the friend of the user A.

If it is selected on the inputting screen image depicted in FIG. 12 thatcaptured image data is to be locally retained, then the recordinginstruction section 162 generates a recording request for the capturedimage data to the recording unit 130. In the present embodiment, if theacceptance unit 104 accepts operation information of the SHARE button81, then the recording instruction section 162 supplies a captureinstruction of a screenshot to the screenshot generation section 118 andsupplies a stopping instruction of background recoding to the recordingcontrolling section 132. Thereafter, when the input image generationsection 152 displays the inputting screen image depicted in FIG. 12 onthe outputting apparatus 4 and the user selects that the capture imagedata is to be saved into the auxiliary storage apparatus 2, then therecording instruction section 162 supplies a recording request for thecapture image data to the recording unit 130.

The recording controlling section 132 acquires image data of ascreenshot generated by the screenshot generation section 118 andrecords the image data into the content recording section 138 by thewriting/reading out section 134. Further, the recording controllingsection 132 reads out image data recorded in the ring buffer 136 by thewriting/reading out section 134 and records the image data into thecontent recording section 138. It is to be noted that image data of ascreenshot can be generated from image data recorded in the ring buffer136, the recording controlling section 132 may not record the image dataof the screenshot into the content recording section 138.

The recording controlling section 132 records a content (image data) inan associated relationship with a log-in user. For example, if one ofthe three users A, B and C depresses the SHARE button 81 while the“SAMURAI” game is being played by the three users, then the recordingcontrolling section 132 records the image data of the ring buffer 136 inan associated relationship with the user accounts of the users A, B andC. The log-in users who are playing the game are stored in the usermanagement unit 170, and the recording controlling section 132 acquiresinformation of the users who are playing the game from the usermanagement unit 170 and associates the information with the image data.The recorded content image generation section 116 is a content browser,and generates a content list image recorded in the content recordingsection 138 and displays the content list image on the outputtingapparatus 4.

FIG. 13 depicts a content list screen image. While, in the presentexample, the recorded content image generation section 116 generates acontent list image for each game title, alto it is possible to generatea content list image for each user. On the content list screen image,for each content, user icons 270 of users who were playing upongeneration of the content are displayed. Consequently, each user canknow the other users who were playing the game together. It is to benoted that, when a content is uploaded to the sharing server 9, alsouser information may be uploaded such that the names of the users whoplayed together are displayed on the sharing site together with commentsand so forth.

The present invention has been described based on the embodimentthereof. This embodiment is illustrative, and it can be recognized bythose skilled in the art that various modifications are possible incombination of the constituent elements and the processes of theembodiment and that also such modifications are included in the scope ofthe present invention.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST

1 . . . Information processing system, 4 . . . Outputting apparatus, 5 .. . Network server, 6 . . . Inputting apparatus, 9 . . . Sharing server,10 . . . Information processing apparatus, 20 . . . Main power supplybutton, 81 . . . SHARE button, 100 . . . Processing part, 102 . . .Communication unit, 104 . . . Acceptance unit, 106 . . . Applicationexecution unit, 110 . . . Image generation unit, 112 . . . Game imagegeneration section, 114 . . . Menu image generation section, 116 . . .Recorded content image generation section, 118 . . . Screenshotgeneration section, 130 . . . Recording unit, 132 . . . Recordingcontrolling section, 134 . . . Writing/reading out section, 136 . . .Ring buffer, 138 . . . Content recording section, 150 . . . Sharingprocessing unit, 152 . . . Input image generation section, 154 . . .Editing image generation section, 156 . . . Setting retaining section,158 . . . Upload processing section, 160 . . . Distribution processingsection, 162 . . . Recording instruction section, 164 . . . Contentacquisition section, 170 . . . User management unit

Industrial Applicability

The present invention can be utilized in a technical field for sharingimage data or information relating to image data.

1. An information processing system comprising: circuitry configured to generate image data for an application to be displayed on an output device; record the image data in memory; receive operation information from a second information processing system that includes a user interface, wherein the circuitry stores the image data for the application for a predetermined period of time up to a point in time at which the operation information is received from the second information processing system while the output device continues to display an application image.
 2. The information processing system of claim 1, wherein the circuitry is configured to record the image data in a background.
 3. The information processing system of claim 1, wherein the circuitry is configured to store image data for the application for the predetermined period of time as editable data.
 4. The information processing system of claim 1, wherein the operation information received from the second information processing system is for system software of the information processing device.
 5. The information processing system of claim 1, wherein the application is a game application configured to be executed by the information processing apparatus.
 6. The information processing system of claim 5, wherein the image data corresponds to game play images produced by the circuitry during execution of the game application by the information processing apparatus.
 7. The information processing system of claim 6, wherein the operation information received from the second information processing system corresponds to an operation to share the game play images produced by the circuitry.
 8. The information processing system of claim 7, wherein the circuitry is configured to transmit the game play images produced by the circuitry to a third information processing system.
 9. The information processing system of claim 8, wherein the third information processing system is one or more servers of a social networking service (SNS).
 10. The information processing system of claim 1, wherein the information processing system is a server communicatively coupled to the second information processing system via at least one of a wired network and a wireless network.
 11. The information processing system of claim 10, wherein the circuitry comprises a central processing unit (CPU).
 12. The information processing system of claim 1, wherein the information processing system includes a plurality of servers communicatively coupled to the second information processing system via at least one of a wired network and a wireless network.
 13. The information processing system of claim 12, wherein the circuitry includes a plurality of central processing units (CPUs) communicatively coupled to one another and the second information processing system via at least one of a wired network and a wireless network.
 14. The information processing system of claim 1, comprising: the second information processing system device, wherein the second information processing system includes the user interface.
 15. The information processing system of claim 14, wherein the second information processing system including the user interface is at least one of a video game controller and a mobile terminal communicatively coupled to the circuitry via at least one or more wired or wireless networks.
 16. The information processing system of claim 1, wherein the second information processing system is a gaming console, and the user interface is a gaming controller that is communicatively coupled to the gaming console.
 17. The information processing system of claim 1, wherein the second information processing system includes the output device and the user interface.
 18. The information processing system of claim 1, comprising: the circuitry; and the second information processing system, wherein the second information processing system includes the user interface and is communicatively coupled to the circuitry via one or more wired and wireless networks.
 19. A method performed by an information processing system, the method comprising: generating image data for an application to be displayed on an output device; recording the image data; and receiving operation information from an input device, wherein the recording includes storing the image data for the application for a predetermined period of time up to a point in time at which the operation information is received while the output device continues to display an application image.
 20. An information processing system comprising: circuitry configured to execute a game application and generate image data for the game application to be displayed; memory configured to store the image data; a communication interface configured to receive operation information corresponding to a user input received at an electronic device, wherein the circuitry is configured to perform control to store the image data for the game application for a predetermined period of time up to a point in time at which the operation information is received from the electronic device. 